Liquid reservoir, and kit, spray assembly and method using same

ABSTRACT

Disposable reservoirs for use with spray apparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing such reservoirs, and methods of use are disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to disposable reservoirs for holding liquids, andspray assemblies and methods employing such reservoirs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wide variety of spray apparatuses for applying liquids, such as paint,varnish, cleaning solvents, or other liquid materials to a surface areknown. Typically, such spray apparatuses includes a reservoir containingthe liquid and a spray apparatus configured to spray the liquid in thereservoir. The liquid from the reservoir may be gravity fed or pressurefed to the spray apparatus by an air bleed from the compressed air lineto the reservoir.

One conventional reservoir is a rigid pot attached to the spray gunapparatus with a removable lid. The reservoir is re-usable and should bethoroughly cleaned when changing the liquid in the reservoir in order toprevent contaminating the new liquid that is poured into the reservoir.However, cleaning the reservoir and, if needed, the spray gun apparatusis time consuming and may require the use of solvents that are costlyand may be a health hazard to the operator.

Another conventional reservoir employs a collapsible liner that isplaced within a rigid reservoir. During use, the liquid is withdrawnfrom the collapsible liner and, after spraying, the collapsed liner andlid can be removed and thrown away allowing a new, clean liner and lidto be used for applying a different liquid. While the collapsible lineris useful because the rigid reservoir does not have to be cleaned asoften, it can be difficult to install and remove the liner within therigid reservoir. Furthermore, sometimes not all of the paint in theliner is used, and this un-used paint can be difficult to recover fromthe liner.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a more user friendlydisposable reservoir. It would also be desirable that such a reservoirbe cheap to fabricate and suitable for use with a variety ofconventional spray gun apparatuses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to disposable reservoirs for use with sprayapparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing suchreservoirs, and methods of use. In one aspect of the invention, adisposable reservoir for holding a liquid, such as paint, includes abody with a first portion having an outlet and a threaded portionconfigured to be threadly coupled to a spray apparatus and, a secondportion having an inlet. A passageway or hollow within the body extendsbetween the inlet and the outlet. The reservoir further includes a lidremovably attachable to the second portion to cover the inlet.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a reservoir-adapter kitfor use with a spray apparatus. The kit includes at least one adapterhaving a passageway therethrough, a reservoir coupling portion, and aspray apparatus coupling portion configured to be threadly coupled tothe spray apparatus. The kit further includes at least one reservoirhaving a body with a first portion having an outlet and a second portionhaving an inlet. A passageway or hollow within the body extends betweenthe inlet and the outlet. The first portion of the body also has athreaded portion configured to be threadly coupled to the reservoircoupling portion of the at least one adapter so that the inlet of the atleast one adapter is in fluid communication with the outlet of the body.The kit further includes a lid configured to be removably attached tothe second portion to cover the inlet. The kit may include a pluralityof reservoirs of different sizes and configurations and a plurality ofadapters to enable the reservoirs to be used with various types of sprayapparatuses.

Another aspect of the invention is directed to a spray assembly. Thespray assembly includes a reservoir having a body with a first portionhaving an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion having aninlet, and a passageway or hollow within the body extending between theinlet and the outlet. The reservoir further includes a lid removablyattached to the second portion to cover the inlet. The spray assemblyalso includes a spray apparatus operable to spray fluid disposed withinthe reservoir. The spray apparatus includes a threaded coupling membercoupled to the reservoir so that the outlet of the reservoir fluidlycommunicates with the spray apparatus.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed to a method of using aspray apparatus. The method includes providing a reservoir. Thereservoir includes a body with a first portion having an outlet and athreaded portion, a second portion having an inlet, and a passageway orhollow within the body extending between the inlet and the outlet. Thereservoir and a threaded coupling portion of the spray apparatus arecoupled to each other. The reservoir is filled with liquid. The liquidis sprayed onto a surface using the spray apparatus. After spraying, thereservoir may be de-coupled from the spray apparatus, and the reservoirmay be thrown away.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a liquid reservoir having externalthreads for use with a spray apparatus according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic exploded view of the liquid reservoir of FIG. 1that additionally depicts an adapter that threadly attaches to thereservoir for use with a spray apparatus according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2B is an exploded schematic sectional view of the reservoir of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded view of a liquid reservoir and anassociated adapter that threadly attaches to internal threads of thereservoir for use with a spray apparatus according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded view of a liquid reservoir that has bothinternal and external threads for use with a spray apparatus accordingto yet another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the liquid reservoir according to FIG. 3and an associated spray gun apparatus according to one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The invention is directed to disposable reservoirs for use with sprayapparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing suchreservoirs, and methods of use. Many specific details of certainembodiments of the invention are set forth in the following descriptionand in FIGS. 1 through 5 in order to provide a thorough understanding ofsuch embodiments. One skilled in the art, however, will understand thatthe invention may have additional embodiments, or that the invention maybe practiced without several of the details described in the followingdescription.

FIGS. 1 and 2A-B show a liquid reservoir 10 for containing paint oranother liquid according to one embodiment of the invention. Thereservoir 10 includes a body 8 having a main section 12 and a necksection 14, both of which may have, for example, a wall thickness ofapproximately 0.001 inches. The main section 12, neck section 14, orboth may be formed to have a generally cylindrical shape, however, othershapes may also be used depending upon the particular manufacturingprocess employed. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an upper portion of themain section 12 may have an inner diameter A that is larger than aninner diameter B of a lower portion of the main section 12, and theinner diameter of the body 8 may continuously taper from the inlet tothe neck section 14 to enable easily nesting one body 8 within another.This allows one body 8 to fit into another body 8 so that the multiplebodies 8 may be nested together to conserve space during packaging. Themain section 12 also includes an inlet 15 in which paint or anotherliquid may be poured through, an outlet 16 in which the paint exits to aspray apparatus, and a passageway or hollow 13 extending between theinlet 15 and the outlet 16 defined by the body 8 for holding a volume ofliquid. The neck section 14 includes exterior threads 18 formed on theexterior thereof that are configured to threadly engage an adapter 26and/or the interior threads of a threaded coupling member of a sprayapparatus (not shown). The main section 12, neck section 14, andexterior threads 18 may be formed as a unitary structure.

The reservoir 10 further includes a removable lid 20 configured totightly snap fit onto the end of the main section 12 proximate the inlet15. In one embodiment, the lid 20 includes a recess 21 sized to receivean end of the main section 12. The lid 20 snap fits onto the mainsection 12 due to an interference fit with a ring 24 that extendsperipherally about the top edge of the main section 12. The sealingengagement of the lid 20 onto the main section 12 should be sufficientto prevent paint from leaking out of the edge of the main section 12during use. The lid 20 also has a through hole 22 extending through itsthickness. The hole 22 enables the pressure within the passageway orhollow 13 of the body 8 to equalize to ambient pressure and prevent avacuum from forming during operation when paint is drawn out of thereservoir 10 through the outlet 16. If desired, to assist the user withinstallation and removal of the lid 20, the lid 20 may include a tab 21integrally formed therewith.

With reference to FIG. 2A, one embodiment of a suitable adapter is shownin FIG. 2 as adapter 26. An adapter may be used, if the neck section 14and the threads 18 thereof are not suitably configured to be coupled toa desired spray apparatus because the spray apparatus has a threadcoupling member that is sized differently or has exterior threads. Inone case, the adaptor may include a spray apparatus coupling portionhaving interior threads that are sized and configured to couple withexterior threads of a threaded coupling member of a spray apparatus. Theadaptor 26 includes an inlet 25, an outlet 27, and a passageway 38 thatextends therebetween for fluidly communicating liquid from the reservoir10 to a spray apparatus. The adaptor 26 includes a reservoir couplingportion 36 having interior threads 28 configured to threadly engage theexterior threads 18 on the reservoir 10. The adaptor 26 further includesa spray apparatus coupling portion 31 having internal threads 32 sizedand configured for coupling to exterior threads of a threaded couplingmember of a spray apparatus. In another embodiment, the spray apparatuscoupling portion 31 may have a diameter that is smaller or greater thanthe diameter of the neck section 14 and the threads 32 may be externalthreads in order to couple the reservoir 10 to a spray apparatus with athread coupling member of a different size.

FIG. 3 shows a reservoir 27 according to another embodiment of theinvention. The reservoir 27 has many of the same components that areincluded in the reservoir 10 of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. Therefore, in theinterest of brevity, the components of the reservoirs 10 and 27 thatcorrespond to each other have been provided with the same referencenumerals, and an explanation of their structure and function will not berepeated. In the reservoir 27, threads 28 are formed on an interior ofthe neck section 14 and, thus, are disposed within the passageway 13.Such an embodiment is compatible with many conventional spray gunapparatuses, which have a threaded coupling member with externalthreads. Thus, the reservoir 27 does need an adapter in order to becoupled to the threaded coupling device of most conventional spray gunapparatus.

However, if it is desirable to use the reservoir 27 with a sprayapparatus having a coupling member with internal threads, an adapter maybe used. One embodiment of a suitable adapter is shown in FIG. 3 asadapter 40 for coupling the reservoir 27 to a spray apparatus having athread coupling member with internal threads. The adapter 40 includes aninlet 42, an outlet 46, and a passageway therebetween for fluidlycommunicating a flow of liquid to the spray apparatus from the reservoir27. The adapter 40 includes a reservoir coupling portion 43 havingexternal threads 44 that are sized and configured to be inserted intothe inlet 16 of the reservoir 27 and threadly engage the interiorthreads 28. The adaptor 40 also includes a spray apparatus couplingportion 45 having external threads 47 configured to connect to internalthreads of a coupling member of a spray apparatus (not shown). Inanother embodiment, the spray apparatus coupling portion 45 may have adiameter that is smaller or greater than the diameter of the necksection 14 and the threads 47 may be internal threads disposed withinthe passageway of the adapter 40 in order to couple the reservoir 27 toa spray apparatus with a threaded coupling member of a different size.

FIG. 4 shows a reservoir 30 according to yet another embodiment of theinvention. The reservoir 30 has many of the same components that areincluded in the reservoir 10 of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. Therefore, in theinterest of brevity, the components of the reservoirs 10 and 30 thatcorrespond to each other have been provided with the same referencenumerals, and an explanation of their structure and function will not berepeated. The reservoir 30 includes the exterior threads 18 formed onthe exterior of the neck section 14 and interior threads 28 disposed onthe interior of the neck section 14. Accordingly, such an embodiment maybe used with an adapter for use with a spray apparatus that has internalor external threads on a coupling member. For example, the adapters 26and 40 may be employed with the reservoir 30. Providing both interiorand exterior threads 28 and 30 enables the reservoir 26 and 30 to beconnected to a variety different types of paint spray apparatuses andcomponents.

The reservoirs 10, 27, and 30 including the body 8 and lid 20 thereofmay be formed from a variety of commercially available materials. Insome embodiments, the body 8 may be formed of polymeric materials suchas, polypropylene, polyethylene, or another suitable material that iscompatible with paint and/or paint thinners. In one embodiment, the bodyis formed from high density polyethylene and the lid 20 is formed of lowdensity polyethylene. The body 8 may be fabricated using injectionmolding and blow molding using any of the aforementioned polymericmaterials. Such fabrication techniques are suitable for forming the mainsection 12, neck section 14, and threads on the neck section 14 as aunitary polymeric structure. Injection molding is well suited forforming internal threads 28 of the reservoir 27 and blow molding is wellsuited for forming the external threads 18 of the reservoir 10. Theadapter 26 and 40 may also be formed from the same or similar materialsusing injection molding or another suitable process. Accordingly, theabove materials and processes enable forming a reservoir havingintegrally formed threads that is cheap enough to be disposed by theuser after use.

Additional embodiments are directed to a kit. The kit may contain one ormore of the aforementioned liquid reservoirs along with their associatedlids, and a one or more compatible adapters, such as any of theaforementioned adapters. For example, the kit may include a combinationof any of the aforementioned reservoirs and a combination of any of theaforementioned adapters that are compatible with the reservoirs. The kitmay also include instructions for use and/or information about whichcommercially available spray apparatuses are compatible with whichadapters and reservoirs. In one embodiment, a plurality of reservoirsmay be nested within each other to reduce the overall size of the kitwhen packaged.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic side elevation view of a spray assembly 50according to one embodiment of the invention that may employ any of theaforementioned embodiments of reservoirs and adapters. The sprayassembly 50 includes a spray gun apparatus 52 having a reservoir 54 thatthreadly attaches to a threaded coupling member 56 of the spray gunapparatus 52. As depicted in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the reservoir 54has internal threads that are threadly coupled to external threads 58 ofthe threaded coupling member 56. In other embodiments, the reservoir 54may have external threads and an adapter having internal threads thatmay be threadly coupled to external threads 58 of the threaded couplingmember 56. The reservoir 10 and adapter 26 show such an embodiment.Similarly, in another embodiment, the threaded coupling member 56 mayhave internal threads and the reservoir 54 may also have internalthreads. In such a case, an adapter such as the adapter 40 shown in FIG.3 may be used to couple the reservoir to the spray gun apparatus 52.

Upon the user manually pulling a trigger 60, the paint or other liquidis gravity fed from the reservoir 54 through a passageway (not shown),which may be formed in the thread coupling member 56 or in anothercomponent, to fluidly communicate the paint with a nozzle 62 of thespray gun apparatus 52. A compressed air source 64 also deliverscompressed air to the spray gun apparatus 52 that is emitted from an aircap 66 that mixes externally with the paint to atomize the paint. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various embodimentsfor the reservoirs and adapters may be used with other spray gunapparatuses. The spray gun apparatus 52 shown in FIG. 5 is merely onetype of spray gun apparatus that may be employed.

In operation, the user attaches the reservoir 54 to the spray gunapparatus 52. If necessary, the user may first couple an adapter to thethread coupling member 56 or, alternatively, first to the reservoir 54.Then, the user fills the reservoir 54 with the desired amount and typeof paint and/or paint thinner, and closes the reservoir 54 with the lid20. The user sprays the paint in the reservoir 54 onto a surface. Whenthe user is finished, the user may decouple the reservoir 54 from thespray gun apparatus 52. Any un-used paint may be poured into anothercontainer and the reservoir 54 may be disposed or thrown away. Anotherreservoir 54 may then be attached to the spray gun apparatus 52 and theprocess repeated using the same or a different type of paint and/orpaint thinner.

Although the invention has been described with reference to thedisclosed embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. For example, the gravity feed spray gunapparatus 52 is one example of a commercially available spray gun thatmay be used with the adapters and reservoirs disclosed herein. Suchmodifications are well within the skill of those ordinarily skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by theappended claims.

1. A reservoir-adapter kit for use with a spray apparatus, comprising:at least one adapter having a passageway therethrough, a reservoircoupling portion, and a spray apparatus coupling portion configured tobe threadly coupled to the spray apparatus; and at least one reservoircomprising: a body including a first portion having an outlet, a secondportion having an inlet, and a passageway extending between the inletand the outlet, the first portion having a threaded portion configuredto be threadly coupled to the reservoir coupling portion of the at leastone adapter so that the inlet of the at least one adapter is in fluidcommunication with the outlet of the body; and a lid configured to beremoveably attached to the second portion to cover the inlet. 2.(canceled)
 3. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threadedportion of the at least one reservoir comprises internal threadsdisposed within the passageway of the body.
 4. The reservoir-adapter kitof claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the at least one reservoircomprises external threads and internal threads disposed within thepassageway of the body.
 5. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 whereinthe threaded portion of the body comprises external threads integrallyformed with the body.
 6. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 whereinthe threaded portion of the body comprises internal threads disposedwithin the passageway of the body and integrally formed with the body.7. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion ofthe body comprises external threads and internal threads disposed withinthe passageway of the body, the external and internal threads beingintegrally formed with the body.
 8. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1wherein the body comprises a main section that includes the inlet and aring extending peripherally about the main section proximate the inlet.9. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the reservoir couplingportion of the at least one adapter comprises one of internal threadsdisposed within the passageway of the at least one adapter and externalthreads.
 10. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein the sprayapparatus coupling portion of the at least one adapter comprises one ofinternal threads disposed within the passageway of the at least oneadapter and external threads.
 11. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1wherein the body and the lid comprise a polymeric material.
 12. A sprayassembly, comprising: a reservoir comprising: a body including a firstportion having an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion havingan inlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet;and a lid removably attached to the second portion to cover the inlet;and a spray apparatus operable to spray fluid disposed within thereservoir, the spray apparatus including a threaded coupling membercoupled to the reservoir so that the outlet of the reservoir fluidlycommunicates with the spray apparatus. 13-18. (canceled)
 19. The sprayassembly of claim 12 wherein: the body comprises a main section thatincludes the inlet and a ring extending peripherally about the mainsection proximate the inlet; and the lid is removably attached to themain section using an interference fit between the lid and the ring. 20.The spray assembly of claim 12, further comprising: an adapter having apassageway therethrough, a reservoir coupling portion, and a sprayapparatus coupling portion, wherein the spray apparatus coupling portionis threadly coupled to the threaded coupling member of the sprayapparatus and the reservoir coupling portion is threadly coupled to thethreaded portion of the reservoir.
 21. The spray assembly of claim 20wherein the reservoir coupling portion of the adapter comprises one ofinternal threads disposed within the passageway of adapter and externalthreads.
 22. The spray assembly of claim 20 wherein the spray apparatuscoupling portion of the adapter comprises one of internal threadsdisposed within the passageway of the adapter that are threadly coupledto the threaded coupling member of the spray apparatus and externalthreads that are threadly coupled to the threaded coupling member of thespray apparatus.
 23. The spray assembly of claim 12 wherein thereservoir comprises a polymeric material.
 24. The spray assembly ofclaim 12 wherein the spray apparatus comprises a spray gun. 25-29.(canceled)
 30. A reservoir for use with a spray apparatus, comprising: areservoir comprising: a body including a first portion having an outletand a threaded portion configured to be threadly coupled to a threadedcoupling member of the spray apparatus, a second portion having aninlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet; anda lid removably attachable to the second portion to cover the inlet.31-37. (canceled)
 38. The reservoir-adapter kit of claim 1 wherein thebody of the at least one reservoir includes a main section having aninner diameter that continuously decreases away from the inlet. 39.(canceled)
 40. The reservoir of claim 30 wherein the body of thereservoir includes a main section having an inner diameter thatcontinuously decreases away from the inlet.
 41. The reservoir of claim40, wherein the reservoir is a first reservoir nested within a stack ofa reservoirs.
 42. A method of using a spray apparatus, comprising:providing a plurality of reservoirs nested within one another to form astack, each reservoir comprising: a body including a first portionhaving an outlet and a threaded portion, a second portion having aninlet, and a passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet, thepassageway having an inner diameter that continuously decreases awayfrom the inlet; removing a first reservoir from the stack; coupling thefirst reservoir and a threaded coupling portion of a spray apparatus toone another; filling the first reservoir with paint; spraying the liquidonto a surface using the spray apparatus; after spraying, decoupling thefirst reservoir from the spray apparatus; and disposing of the firstreservoir.
 43. The method of claim 42: further comprising coupling anadapter to the first reservoir; and wherein the act of coupling thefirst reservoir and a threaded coupling portion of the spray apparatusto each other comprises coupling the adapter to the threaded couplingportion of the spray apparatus.